Intercessory Prayer

NCFI Cares: Intercession with The Lord’s Prayer

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“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:13

The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 is Jesus’ response to the disciples’ request, “Teach us to pray.”

Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen (NASB).

There are countless books, Bible studies, and sermon topics written on this timeless prayer. Depending upon your faith tradition, you may be quite familiar with the Lord’s prayer. The prayer may be part of corporate worship or a liturgy for personal prayer. The prayer can also provide a template of sorts to intercede for believers and non-believers alike.

As we bring friends, families and colleagues concerns to prayer, we recognize that we have a holy, loving Father who cares for everyone, the saved and the unsaved. We petition, first and foremost, for His will to be accomplished and His just and merciful kingdom found in heaven to come to earth.  The recognition and verbal proclamation of God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will reminds us of His purpose and plan for others.

With our hearts and spirits focused on the Divine, we can make requests for others. Through the petition for daily bread, we recognize that a loving Heavenly Father daily meets all physical and temporal needs. We ask for nothing more and nothing less than the Father’s provision for this basic necessity.

Just as He meets the physical, the Holy Father meets our primary spiritual need, forgiveness. The first request is for others to receive forgiveness from the Father; with an immediate recognition that the gift of mercy is based upon extending mercy to others.

A final necessity is a petition for the Spirit’s help in thwarting temptation and deliverance from evil. Two simple requests that recognizes the balance of power we consistently face. Yet, we do not lose heart in our intercessory prayer for others. We conclude with bold proclamation of God’s kingdom, power, and glory will exist eternally. Amen.

Blessings, Carrie

NCFI Cares: A Friend with You in the Fire

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I am sure many of you are familiar with the popular modern worship song by Hillsong United entitled “Another in the Fire” (2019).  The opening lyrics are:

There’s a grace when the heart is under fire

Another way when the walls are closing in

And when I look at the space between

Where I used to be and this reckoning

I know I will never be alone

There was another in the fire

Standing next to me

Hillsong United

The title and major phrase refers to the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace. They had been placed in the furnace for refusing to bow down and worship the idol of Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 3). Our favorite passage is Nebuchadnezzar proclaiming, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” How we rejoice with the miracle and stand firm on the promise that we will never be alone.

I love celebrating the miracle, but I also am thankful for the love and support of friends. There are three friends who were willing to die for the Lord together. I am sure there was much prayer and praising going on PRIOR to their big push into the furnace. Especially when the guards were immediately incinerated when the door was opened (Daniel 3:22).  What scripture doesn’t tell us, is what was Daniel doing? Since prayer was an integral part of his relationship with God, we can be confident that Daniel was praying for his friends. I imagine his prayer was for his friends to maintain their faith, not give in to pressure, and have courage in the face of certain death.

We have the assurance of Jesus staying faithful, even when we are wavering in our faith. Some of the ways Jesus encourages us is through our faithful friends; and He uses us to encourage our friends when they are experiencing “times of fire”.   

The Psalms were a prayer book during Daniel’s time and is a prayer book for us today. Search the Psalms for a phrase, section, or entire Psalm that you can use to pray for a friend, colleague or patient “in the fire” of life.

Find the song by Hillsong United here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmNc0L7Ac5c

NCFI Cares: Doing Good to Our Faith Family

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While we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Galatians 6:10

As nurses and midwives, we have been doing a tremendous amount of good during the pandemic: long hours and multiple shifts, too many patients who are very ill, increased time away from family, and others.  In Galatians 6:10, Paul instructs us to continue to do good to all people, especially those of the family of faith!  I love this reminder. Our priority in doing good is towards our fellow Christians, brothers and sisters of the faith. 

Some of suggested ways of “doing good” to one another are found in the previous verses:

-gently restore someone discovered in sin (verse 1)

-carry one another’s burdens (verse 2)

-don’t compare one’s work with someone else’s (verse 4)

-share personal instruction from the word with others (verse 6)

I would add to Paul’s teachings and say the “doing good” we can all do for our Christian family is prayer. We are living with a prayer crisis for our brothers and sisters of faith in Afghanistan. The world is praying for the Afghan and non-Afghan people who are innocently caught up in a power struggle and political war. But, how many people of the world added to their prayers, specific concerns for the Christian Church? Only fellow believers. Our hearts and spirits ache for our brothers and sisters, who are threatened and persecuted for their faith. Simple things we take for granted: attending worship, fellowshipping with other believers, and owning a Bible.

Yes, we are hurt and devastated by the atrocities to our family members of the faith. However, we can pray longer, harder, and more purposefully. Let’s follow the 1st Century believers who fervently prayed for Peter in prison, knowing the prayer of righteous person has great effectiveness. (Acts 12:5; James 5:16).

Christian Nursing 101: Intercessory Prayer: Differentiating the Source

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When I first thought about writing this article, I wanted the title to be “Take Back Prayer in Nursing”. That is because I feel we have let prayer, communication between God and man, become a buzzword for anything spiritual. Once a reverent privilege to enter the throne room of God to speak praises, confession, or petitions to our holy Creator. Prayer has been relegated to an existential experience of sending positive thoughts, connecting with the universe, or random words to the unknown. My concern is not with non-Christian and their spiritual journey.  Instead it is with  Christians who espouse their prayers and petitions to a random receiver, or worse to evil spirits.

Thus, the article guides Christian nurses back to the tenets of our faith and Bible teaching on prayer. Since not all prayers are the same, Christians should be cautious when asked to pray for at least two reasons: who we pray to does matter and prayer is more than just reading a few lines.

Finally, we should strongly resist a compulsion to communicate with other gods, energy force or entities by patients, families, or staff. The Bible clearly teaches the \reality of evil spirits or demon world; which is in contradiction to God and Christ.

I would enjoy hearing more about your experience with non-Christian prayer in nursing.